186 THE MYTHS OF CREATION: THE GODS
boy here to show you. Yet so that I may go over with you all that I intend, I
shall come back again with my son, about the fifth year. Certainly when you
first behold with your eyes this flourishing child, you will rejoice at the sight,
for he will be very much like a god; and you will bring him to windy Troy. If
any mortal person asks who the mother was who carried him under her girdle,
remember to say what I tell you. Say she is the daughter of one of the nymphs,
beautiful as a flower, who inhabits this forest-covered mountain. If you speak
out and boast like a fool that you were joined in love with lovely-crowned
Cytherea, Zeus in his anger will strike you with a smoldering thunderbolt. Every-
thing has been told to you; take it all to heart. Refrain from naming me and be
intimidated by the anger of the gods." Having spoken thus, she soared upward
to windy heaven.
Hail, goddess, guardian of well-built Cyprus; I began with you and now I
shall go on to another hymn.EROS
Eros, the male counterpart of Aphrodite, shares many of her characteristics. He
too had a dual tradition for his birth. He may be the early cosmic deity in the
creation myths of Hesiod and the Orphies or the son of Aphrodite, his father be-
ing Ares. At any rate he is often closely associated with the goddess as her at-
tendant. Eros, like Aphrodite, may represent all facets of love and desire, but of-
ten he is the god of male homosexuality, particularly in the Greek classical
period. He is depicted as a handsome young man, the embodiment and ideal-
ization of masculine beauty.THE SYMPOSIUM OF PLATO
The Symposium of Plato provides a most profound analysis of the manifold na-
ture and power of love, especially in terms of a conception of Eros. The dialogue
tells of a select gathering at the house of Agathon, a dramatic poet, on the day
after the customary celebration with the members of his cast in honor of his vic-
tory with his first tragedy. The topic at this most famous of dinner parties is that
of love. Each guest in turn is asked to expound on the subject. The speeches of
Aristophanes and Socrates, both of whom are present, are by far the most re-
warding in their universal implications.^11ARISTOPHANES' SPEECH IN THE SYMPOSIUM
Aristophanes' speech (Symposium 14-16 [189A-193E]) follows those of Pausa-
nias and Eryximachus, two of the other guests.¥
Men seem to me to have failed completely to comprehend the power of Eros,
for if they did comprehend it, they would have built to him the greatest altars
and temples and offered the greatest sacrifices, whereas he is given none of these